


That Hashtag Wants Me Dead

by Chash



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hollywood, Awards, F/M, Social Media
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-04
Updated: 2017-05-04
Packaged: 2018-10-27 21:00:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10816665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chash/pseuds/Chash
Summary: The first time Ark did awards, Bellamy was in there as a joke, the no-name actor who happened to know the people who ran the website. The second time, five years later, he's in on his own merits, and it's basically awesome, aside from the weird interaction of his competitiveness with his unresolved feelings for Clarke.But aside from that, yeah. Everything's great.





	That Hashtag Wants Me Dead

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kacka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kacka/gifts).



> So, as you may have heard, Bob Morley won an award this weekend! Zach McGowan was also involved at some point and there was [this exchange on Twitter](https://twitter.com/WildpipM/status/855329804509257730), and Kacka wanted Bellamy and Roan being competitive about some awards thing, which is, you know, basically my brand, so here we are.

The first year Ark Reviews does their Excellence In Male-Identified Television Thespians (shortened to EMITT, for the hashtag) awards, Bellamy only gets nominated because he's friends with the staff. He's one of sixteen actors in that inaugural contest, and he loses in the first round to one of the guys on _Supernatural_ , which seems fair. Bellamy's got a recurring background role on an ABC Family drama; the only votes he gets are from Miller and Monty, he's pretty sure.

The next year, he's not actually doing anything other than assorted guest spots, so Clarke vetoes putting him on the ballot, which Bellamy can barely even pretend to disagree with. He does his best, of course, because arguing with Clarke is his favorite hobby, but the site is starting to get kind of popular, which means they should probably lean away from blatant favoritism, like putting unknown, barely employed D-listers into their polls just because they know them personally.

So it's five more years before Bellamy makes it into the EMITTs again, this time on his own merits. Somewhat miraculously, _Titans_ is on its second season, and while he's not the actual lead, it's basically an ensemble, and he's often cited as the highlight of the cast. And, okay, it's a little weird to be twenty-seven and regularly greeted as _Superboy_ , but whatever. It's a good role, and he likes it, and everyone agrees he actually looks good in spandex.

In the grand scheme of things, the EMITTs aren't really the best part of his newfound success, not even close, but it _is_ kind of embarrassingly exciting when Clarke says, "Oh, Bellamy's in."

"Are you telling me I've arrived, princess?" he asks, looking over her shoulder at the list. He's not on the Ark staff, of course, but he's basically grandfathered into their meetings by having been around when the site was founded and by living in the same house as Clarke, Monty, and Miller. They'd have to actually kick him out of his own home to exclude him from these things, even if they wanted to.

"If Ark gets to decide who's arrived, I think it means _we've_ arrived." She scans Monty and Raven's meticulously detailed summary of the top sixteen data. " _Titans_ got a lot of nominations, but not enough to justify giving it two slots, and you got the most individual votes. So, yeah. You're one of the top sixteen hottest guys on TV, and we didn't even cheat for it this time."

"All my dreams coming true," he says, dry, but it really is kind of awesome. He'd never really expected to make it into the awards again, and even if they're a meaningless online popularity contest, they're a meaningless online popularity contest that he's _in_.

Not to be a total cliche, but it really is an honor just to be nominated.

"And, you're in the newbie bracket," says Monty. "So congratulations. That means Roan isn't going to beat you until the finale."

Bellamy would like to not scowl. That would be the cool, mature thing. It would be great, if Roan Bergman's name didn't automatically ruin his day. It would even be the logical thing, because there's nothing wrong with Roan. Or, well, nothing _really_ wrong with Roan. 

Roan is the star of a SyFy show about space pirates in its fourth season that Bellamy refuses to watch on principle, but will occasionally witness when he passes through the living room while someone else is watching it. From what Bellamy's seen, he's a good actor, and the show seems cool. And whenever he hangs out with Roan, he seems like a good guy.

He's just the same kind of good guy Bellamy himself is: the kind whose goodness is well hidden with a protective layer of surly dickishness. But Roan is also richer than Bellamy, and more successful than Bellamy, and gets away with shit that Bellamy could never manage without feeling like a complete asshole, like embodying the 90s surfer aesthetic at literally all times. 

Mostly, every time Bellamy sees him, it feels like they're in some unspoken competition that Bellamy is losing.

And now it's turning into a spoken competition, apparently.

"He might not win," says Raven. "Someone has to dethrone him eventually. And nominations are one vote per person, but for the top sixteen, the only limit is how much time you're willing to put into refreshing."

"I still think you should change that," Bellamy says, and Raven rolls her eyes.

"It's almost like we care more about page views than the integrity of our awards." Her eyes flick over her laptop. "I'm just saying, I think you've got a chance."

"To beat Roan?" Clarke asks, before Bellamy can.

"Yup."

"Are you going to put money on that?" Miller asks.

"I haven't finished my bracket yet," says Raven. "But I might, yeah."

"You're going to break Roan's heart," Monty teases, and Raven rolls her eyes.

"Jury's still out on if he has one. Does Bellamy get to do a ballot this year?"

"Why wouldn't I?" he asks, mild. He doesn't really care, but the in-office March Madness for the awards is fun, and he'd be sad to not be included. "You think I'm going to spam-vote for myself?"

"You can leverage your Twitter followers to do your bidding," says Monty.

"That sounds like a level of Twitter competence that's beyond Bellamy," says Clarke. He'd be offended if she wasn't right. Bellamy has a Twitter because his sister made it for him, and he only uses it because the network wants him to. He makes one post once a week when the show isn't on, usually a cool quote from a book he likes, or a picture if he's feeling particularly inspired. During the season, he also live-tweets the episode, which mostly involves playing the _Titans_ drinking game with Clarke and letting her write half his posts because she's better at this than he is. That's the extent of his Twitter presence, and it's already more than he'd like.

"Yeah, I'm barely going to remember to promote myself," he says. "Promoting my entire bracket isn't happening."

"Besides, we posted his bracket last year with everyone else's and his followers didn't make sure he won," Clarke adds. "And if Bellamy's not in, the pool loses twenty bucks. So he's definitely participating."

The pool is never as big a draw in the internal EMITT brackets as the bragging rights, since there are only five of them involved, but that also means that losing Bellamy's $20 is a significant percentage of the total prize, so everyone's won over.

"Are you going to pick yourself?" Monty asks, curious.

"If I don't, who will?"

Deliberately, Clarke takes the top bracket from the pile of print-offs and writes _Bellamy Blake_ in the top spot.

"I've got a good feeling," she says, and Bellamy tries not to stare at the letters. Because that would be sad. "This is your year."

"Yeah," he agrees. "I hope so."

*

 **Ark Reviews** @ark-reviews  
The wait is over! @cl-ark-e reveals the #EMITT2k17 top sixteen! Not tagging anyone bc spoilers, just click the link! bit.ly/3b6gOmD

 **Roan Bergman** @ice2meetyou  
_Replying to @ark-reviews_  
Does this mean I shouldn't reply to this? #EMITT2k17

 **Raven [crown emoji]** @reyes-of-the-lost-ark  
_Replying to @ark-reviews and @ice2meetyou_  
I don't think you count as a spoiler at this point

 **Roan Bergman** @ice2meetyou  
_Replying to @ark-reviews and @reyes-of-the-lost-ark_  
So @abellamybreak shouldn't reply to this

 **Raven [crown emoji]** @reyes-of-the-lost-ark  
_Replying to @ark-reviews and @ice2meetyou_  
Bellamy showing up in one of Clarke's videos is the opposite of a spoiler

*

Ark Reviews was Raven and Monty's idea. The two of them--and Clarke--met in freshman year at UCLA, and the two of them spent a lot of time yelling about TV shows, which they decided to turn into a website. Clarke got involved because Clarke is actually a Hollywood person, after a fashion. Her mother is a big-name producer, and her father does practical effects work, so Clarke grew up on soundstages and movie sets, which means she has actual connections.

The combination of smart, snarky reviews and interesting behind-the-scenes information and interviews got Ark Reviews a following fast, which was how Miller, and, by extension, Bellamy, got involved. Miller was junior at UCLA who rented the room in Bellamy and Octavia's apartment that used to belong to their mother, and he got hired on as a third reviewer when they advertised for one on campus. 

At the time, Bellamy had been doing acting along with his other odd jobs for years, and was finally getting enough of a reputation as a solid, reliable performer to get by on his acting alone. It was exciting, and awesome, and he felt like he'd earned it. Which meant that, when Clarke assumed he was tagging along with Miller, he was looking for a career boost, it had been pretty bad. She'd make a snide comment about his trying to piggyback on their fame, he'd sneer that they'd need fame for him to do that, and the two of them would glare every time they saw each other for months, until Clarke sat down next to him on the couch one day and said, "So, you don't have any friends."

He raised his eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"I thought you must have some ulterior motive for wanting to hang out with a bunch of college kids, but you're really just lonely."

It was basically true, but he couldn't help an unimpressed look. "Wow, you're really buttering me up. Do you want a favor or something?"

"I'm sorry, okay? I was a dick to you, and you didn't deserve it." She paused. "Well, not for that."

"So you're going to keep on being a dick to me, just for new reasons?"

"Yup." She bumped her shoulder against his. "Come on, I'm doing a video about the five things I remember from being on the set of _The Lord of the Rings_ when I was a kid, I could use someone to argue with so it's not stupidly short."

Clarke's always done videos instead of articles for Ark. If he'd met her before seeing her on camera, he probably would have assumed she'd be terrible at it, and she confessed to him once that she thought she would be too. But the first thing she ever posted on Ark was an interview with Lexa Walden, whom she'd been dating at the time, and Raven recommended that they do it as a video primarily because otherwise no one would believe that they'd actually landed an interview with Lexa Walden. And then Clarke kept doing videos, because she kind of liked them. Sometimes they were interviews, sometimes announcements, sometimes informational. She and Raven have a series explaining how various effects were done, and she and Miller have one about screenwriting and storytelling.

Bellamy is not officially in any of her videos, but he likes to watch her film, and sometimes he'll heckle her. Commenters on the site have theorized that this is a sign he has a thing for her, which Raven will encourage, because she claims it drives page views.

Clarke has never mentioned it. It's hard to say if it's a relief or not.

One day after the EMITT bracket announcement video, the two of them do a follow-up, and it's a little weird, sitting next to Clarke on the couch she usually films on deliberately, instead of injecting himself into the proceedings when there's a good opening. They've never actually done a bit before.

"Okay," says Clarke. "So, we don't talk a lot about Bellamy here on Ark Reviews."

"There's a special section of the _Titans_ review just dedicated to rating how my hair looked in the episode," he points out.

"That's good raw data," Raven says, from behind the camera. "You should give it to your hair and makeup department so they can give the people what they want."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," he says, and shifts his focus from Raven to the actual camera lens. "What Clarke means is that no one's ever explained how I'm related to Ark."

"No, he just kind of shows up sometimes. And you guys have some really interesting theories as to why, which is always a lot of fun for us, so we just kind of let him be a mystery. But some of our readers have concerns about the ethics of Bellamy actually being in the EMITTs. So, let's talk about you," she says, turning her attention to him.

"Bellamy Blake, twenty-seven, Capricorn. I like candlelit dinners, long walks on the beach--"

"You hate the beach, you're afraid of crabs."

"It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you," he grumbles, and she rolls her eyes.

"You got pinched _once_. When you were five. In the _Philippines_. We don't even have the kind of crab that pinched you here."

"That sounds like something someone who wants a crab to kill me would say."

"Focus," says Raven, and Clarke flashes a smile.

"Sorry. So, Bellamy. How did you get involved with Ark?"

"Miller was renting a room from me when he started writing for you guys, and you decided you should film shit on my couch sometimes. This really isn't my fault."

"Yeah, so that's Bellamy's secret origin story with Ark: he and Miller were roommates. And still are, but now me and Monty live here too, so they don't have that unique bond." She worries her lip. "Look, we thought about disqualifying Bellamy because he's our friend. We post his bracket every year with the rest of the staff brackets, and it's weird to do that for someone who's actually one of the competitors. And long-time readers pointed out that it's not the first time Bellamy has been on the list--when we started doing this six years ago, we put him into the inaugural EMITT awards because we could."

"They talked about putting me in every year as a weird in-joke," he adds. "But then the site started getting legit and Clarke was worried about bias and journalistic integrity or whatever--"

"You were on two episodes of _Pretty Little Liars_ that year. You were credited as _sleeping student_."

"Hey, I was also in a commercial for allergy medicine."

"Oh, yeah, never mind. You were a star." She shifts her focus back to the camera, smiling. "Here's the deal: if you guys think we rigged the vote for Bellamy, you can take a look at Monty and Raven's methodology. It's intense. If you don't like him, don't vote for him. But he got himself nominated fair and square. And nine of sixteen nominees have appeared in videos for us, so it's not like he's the only one. Roan's here like every other week and no one's ever said that's a sign we're biasing the voting."

"Yeah, but he does keep winning," Bellamy can't help pointing out.

"Well, you're on here more than he is," Clarke says. "So if it's just that, you're definitely going to win."

"No wonder you picked me for your bracket," he says. It still makes him weirdly emotional to think about, in ways he has no idea how to process. All it means is that Clarke thinks he's more likely to win than Roan, and that's not _personal_. Raven put him down too. Miller and Monty went with Roan, and he's not hurt.

It's just Clarke who matters to him, honestly.

"Yeah, you're going to win me the big bucks, Blake," she says, patting his arm. "Anyway, as usual, we'll do one-on-ones with the top four, so you always see all of them anyway. Just because you see Bellamy slightly more and I'm rooting for him doesn't mean he'll win. That's up to you. Voting starts Friday at 5 pm PST and goes until Sunday at 8, so get excited. Anything else, Bellamy?"

"Vote early, vote often," he says.

"Just like every election. See you guys next week with results."

*

 **Give Bellamy Blake** @abellamybreak  
Top Eight in #EMITT2k17, which means I've already done better than last time. Anything past this is a bonus.

 **Eight is a lot of legs, David** @octaviapus  
_Replying to @abellamybreak_  
how many times did you vote for yourself be honest

 **Give Bellamy Blake** @abellamybreak  
_Replying to @octaviapus_  
How many times did you vote for Lincoln? What are you going to do if we're in the finals together?

 **Eight is a lot of legs, David** @octaviapus  
_Replying to @abellamybreak_  
@the-lincoln-actor for #EMITT2k17!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*

Miller actually had to sit Bellamy down and explain why he didn't like Roan, which was pretty embarrassing for everyone involved, but, Bellamy will admit, absolutely necessary.

Part of the problem was that he had about a billion good reasons he didn't like Roan: he was rich, he was privileged, he was kind of douchey, he liked to wear vests with no shirt on under them, he owned multiple pairs of camouflage cargo shorts, he apparently unironically used the word "bra" once to refer to another human being instead of an undergarment. And, on top of that, he was all smooth and charming and cool in public, so no one even _knew_ he owned one of those hats that holds beer.

So Roan was easy to hate, and Bellamy didn't think about it much until Miller said, "Roan is basically Clarke's brother."

Bellamy startled out of what was probably best described as a pout. This was right after _Sea of Stars_ had gotten picked up for a season order, and Roan had stopped by to do an interview about the project, and also talk generally about the process of shows going from concept to pilot to season. It was a good thing to talk about, and Bellamy was sure it would be interesting.

He just also wasn't going to stop by and talk to Clarke while it was happening. It wasn't even weird; he didn't usually jump in except when Clarke was on her own.

"What?" he asked,

"Look, I get that you hate Roan because you're convinced that he and Clarke are going to get married, so you and Clarke can't, but seriously. They've been friends since she was born. They're not like that. I think he has a thing for Raven."

"Me and Clarke aren't getting married," Bellamy said, before his brain had caught up with the rest of the sentence. That part was easy.

"Not if you never ask her out, you're not."

Bellamy was sort of gaping at him at that point, because it wasn't like he'd never thought about it before, but in some ways, it was. Clarke had still been dating Lexa when they met, and then he started dating Gina, and by the time they were both single, they were just--whatever they were. If someone had asked him if he loved Clarke, he would have said yes without hesitation. If someone had asked if he, like, _liked her_ liked her, he probably would have walked into a wall.

Miller clapped his shoulder and wandered off, and Bellamy just stayed on the couch, playing Zelda on autopilot, until Clarke sat down next to him. Her hair was braided and she looked flushed with victory, the same way she always was after recording.

For the first time, it occurred to him that the reason he liked recording with Clarke was that he liked seeing her like this after, liked seeing her so happy and proud. It was such a good look on her.

"Everything go okay?" he asked, voice coming out gruff.

"Awesome," she said. "Trust me, that show's going to be a hit."

"Good for Roan."

Clarke snorted and bumped his shoulder with hers. "Aren't you supposed to be an actor? Be more convincing."

"I'm not on the clock. You want acting, you can pay me for it, princess."

"Fair enough." She settled in. "What are you playing?"

It was hard to deny how he felt about her after that, but surprisingly easy to still hate Roan. But at least it was for Roan reasons, not for Clarke reasons.

So when Roan shows up at the house at six on the Friday the second round of EMITT voting starts and Bellamy is the one to open the door, he takes one look at him (flip flops, cargo shorts, _Frozen_ t-shirt, aviators) and says, "Not interested."

"Don't tell me you're afraid of a little friendly competition," says Roan.

"Did you come here to spam-vote for yourself on our couch?"

"Maybe I'm spam-voting for you."

"Cool. I'm spam-voting for Lincoln." He crosses his arms. "Seriously, what are you doing here?"

"Am I not allowed to visit? Are you barring me from entering your house?"

"No one else is home."

Roan frowns. "Really?"

"It's almost like Raven doesn't actually live here."

"I didn't think Monty and Miller ever left."

"Magic tournament," he says. "That's their hot Friday date night."

Roan smiles. "Of course. And Clarke?"

"Groceries."

"Well, I must be early. We're having a game night. You're invited. I assume someone would have told you."

"Really? No one telling me shit is a much better assumption." He finally steps out of the way to let Roan in, and Roan gives him a smirk.

"Have you checked the polls?"

"You're really overestimating how much I care about this. You want anything to drink?"

"Whatever awful beer Clarke has is fine."

"PBR this week."

"Perfect." He leans against the island, watching as Bellamy roots through the fridge. "I assume you care about your bracket. Thanks for putting me into the finals, by the way."

"You've won the last two years," he points out. "Every one of our brackets has you going into the finals."

"But only two have me winning."

Bellamy shrugs. "Raven has a lot of faith in my fan base."

"And Clarke has a lot of faith in you."

This is another problem with Roan. Bellamy really wants to hate the guy, but he also kind of wants to tug him aside and ask if he knows any good gossip about Clarke's feelings, because if anyone else does, they're not telling.

But Roan probably doesn't know any more than Miller does. He knows he's not exactly subtle about his thing for Clarke. Half the internet has noticed.

"Do you put a lot of effort into winning this?" he asks, instead of taking the bait. "Because I'm not really doing anything. It has nothing to do with me at this point."

"No, I just coast on my natural charms. As I'm sure you'll be able to." He offers his hand. "May the best man win."

It's tempting to just leave him hanging, but that would be weird and anti-social even by Bellamy's standards. So he shakes, gives Roan a tight smile. "The best male-identified thespian, thanks."

Of course, Roan snorts. "Yes, exactly."

*

 **Ark Reviews** @ark-reviews  
#EMITT2k17 FINAL FOUR! @cl-ark-e has the good (or bad) news for your brackets, and stay tuned for interviews coming up with everyone this week! bit.ly/2b0mPrJ

 **ANNE [star emoji]** @anne-el-kent  
_Replying to @ark-reviews_  
VOTE FOR BELLAMY @abellamybreak!! #EMITT2k17

 **Raven [crown emoji]** @reyes-of-the-lost-ark  
_Replying to @ark-reviews and @anne-el-kent_  
I like your hustle, but voting's closed until Friday, so you can take a Bellamy break.

*

Bellamy about 75% likes Lincoln Sherwood. He'd unreservedly like him, except O is a props assistant on his show, and they're definitely flirting, and going to get together soon, which means that some stupid, immature part of Bellamy still wants to pick a fight. 

The good news is that, unlike with Roan, he doesn't think he's _right_ to hate Lincoln, so he still acts like a half-decent person around him.

"Congratulations on making the top four," he says, when Lincoln shows up for his interview with Clarke, and Lincoln shakes his hand and returns his smile.

"You too."

"This is better than you did last year, right?"

"I got knocked out after the top eight, yes. I assume I'm done after this round, though."

"Someone's got to beat Roan eventually. But, uh, no offense, I hope you don't. Unless I lose too. Mostly I just really don't want to see what O would do if I was up against you. She'd run a fucking dirty campaign."

"I don't know, I think anything your sister did to try to sabotage you would probably help your case," Lincoln muses. "Embarrassing childhood pictures? Fans eat those up."

"Maybe I should tell her to do that anyway, if I get to the finals. If I go up against Roan, I'll need all the help I can get." 

"I know what you mean. Honestly I've already resigned myself to the loss already. I won't be this year's most excellent male-identified thespian. But I don't think the show is getting canceled, so I can start working on my campaign for next year."

"You should take your shirt off more," says Clarke. She's doing all of her interviews--except possibly Bellamy, if she gets tired--today, so she's got Kyle Wick with her, walking him out. Maybe it's cocky, but Bellamy can't find it in himself to be even a little worried about Wick knocking him out. He just doesn't seem like much of a threat. It's more of a surprise that he made it to the top four at all. "Taking your shirt off is always the answer."

"Judging by Roan's Instagram, it does seem to be a winning strategy," says Lincoln.

"I'm working on making it a requirement," says Clarke. She opens the door for Wick with a handshake, and then turns her attention back to Bellamy and Lincoln. "You weren't being a dick, right?"

Bellamy rolls his eyes. "Who, me?"

"Hey, he is the competition."

"Not yet. We could both get knocked out."

"I'm pretty sure you do a better interview than Wick. You could beat him in your sleep."

"I am asleep for like a third of the voting period. I still don't know what you guys think I'm doing to make this happen."

"Not taking off your shirt enough, that's for sure," says Clarke. "Come on, Lincoln. I know you've got stuff to do later." She throws a smirk over her shoulder at Bellamy. "Don't kill Roan before I get to him."

"You know when you put it like that, it sounds like you're still planning to kill him, right?" he asks, mild.

"Hey, unlike some people, I got the final four right. So if I take out Roan, I'm basically guaranteed the win."

"You're way too rich to commit murder for a lousy hundred bucks."

"And bragging rights. Money can't buy bragging rights."

"It really can. I'm already rich enough from _Titans_ to buy bragging rights. It's awesome." 

She rolls her eyes but doesn't respond, turning her attention to Lincoln with a smile. "Sorry about him. Ready?"

"Don't apologize on my account." He sounds amused, and Bellamy assumes he also noticed that, yeah, that was _flirting_. He's pretty sure it was even mutual.

It's only taken five years, but he actually thinks she's flirting back.

"Lead the way," Lincoln continues, and the two of them disappear to the basement for filming.

Bellamy gives them five minutes, and then goes to crash it. After all, Lincoln is his favorite, and on his way to being his brother-in-law someday. The least he can do is give his official endorsement. 

He never gets to be the embarrassing older brother anymore. It's kind of nice.

He's only on screen for about ten seconds, but hangs out to watch the end of the interview anyway. He really _does_ like Lincoln; he's probably the least Hollywood person Bellamy has ever met, and he spends his hiatuses in the wilds of Canada, which is definitely perfect for O. They'll build a log cabin and raise a bunch of scarily self-sufficient kids. If the award actually was for excellence, instead of a basic popularity contest, Lincoln would win hands down. 

By the time the interview is done, Roan has already let himself in, and he's on the living room couch, shirtless, reading what appears to be a fishing magazine.

"Is your entire life an ironic hipster phase?" Raven asks. Bellamy honestly isn't sure if they're dating or fucking or what. Raven might just be genuinely horrified of him.

"No, this is unironic," he says. "I don't see any reason to be anything but what I am."

"Really?" asks Raven. "Because I see like five right now and I'm not even looking that hard."

"Are you actually doing this shirtless?" Clarke asks, before Roan can attempt to defend himself further.

"It's a strategic choice. And I'm setting an example for Bellamy. You're going to have to bring your A-game if you want to beat me." 

"He's right," Clarke says. "You better take your shirt off, Bellamy."

"I'm trying a different approach. Roan is just giving it away for free. He's already shirtless all the time, so no one has any reason to vote for him."

"I hope you're aware that's the same argument people use to tell women they shouldn't have sex until marriage," says Roan.

"I'm just saying, shirtless pictures seem like something you should use as a reward. It's harder to find pictures of you with your shirt on. The novelty's worn off."

"So, if you win, you're doing a shirtless photoshoot?" asks Clarke.

"I didn't say that."

"Too late, I'm putting it on Twitter," says Raven. "That makes it binding."

"A _photoshoot_?" he asks Clarke. Raven is a lost cause. "How many pictures are we talking here?"

Clarke just beams. "You want to win, don't you?"

"I'm starting to think you might be biased, Clarke," Roan says, dry.

"If you're just starting to think that now, you haven't been paying attention." She stretches. "Ready for the interview?"

"Bellamy might have a point. Maybe I should put a shirt on."

"No, you're good," says Raven. "You've got a brand. Might as well lean into it."

"Which I'm sure has nothing to do with your personal interest in seeing me shirtless."

"I'm trying to help," says Raven, and they're still bickering as they head downstairs.

Bellamy pulls out his phone, checking to see if Raven made good on her threat. Which, of course, she did; her _Breaking #EMITT2k17 news: if @abellamybreak wins he will do a shirtless photoshoot_ tweet is already in the early stages of going viral.

There's no getting out of it now, so he just retweets it and closes the app without even glancing at his notifications.

He's probably not going to win anyway. No big deal.

*

 **Ark Reviews** @ark-reviews  
Congrats to @ice2meetu and @abellamybreak, your #EMITT2k17 finalists!!! @cl-ark-e has more: bit.ly/5j1cHdU

 **Ark Reviews** @ark-reviews  
_Replying to @ark-reviews_  
I was going to build suspense but this round was a bloodbath

 **Ark Reviews** @ark-reviews  
_Replying to @ark-reviews_  
Btw if you care about the office brackets, it's down to Monty vs Clarke for the big winner

 **Ark Reviews** @ark-reviews  
_Replying to @ark-reviews_  
So in case there was ever any doubt, a vote for Bellamy is now officially a vote for Clarke #together

 **Clarke** @cl-ark-e  
_Replying to @ark-reviews_  
I can't believe you're still using an in-joke from college for our hashtag

 **Raven [crown emoji]** @reyes-of-the-lost-ark  
_Replying to @ark-reviews and @cl-ark-e_  
can't you tho

*

Bellamy wasn't really expecting to feel really _competitive_ about the finals. As he keeps telling everyone, he really doesn't have much control over the whole thing. In theory, he could spend the whole weekend voting for himself, but that's both kind of sad and against the official in-house EMITT voting guidelines. All of them are allowed one vote per round, on the honor system, which hasn't really mattered, so far, given Bellamy still didn't actually manage to vote for himself in any previous rounds. It just felt too weird.

But he really does want to win.

"Is this just another Roan thing?" he asks Miller.

Miller is working on his review of some new Netflix original thing, so he just spares Bellamy about half a glance. "Is what a Roan thing? And how would I know?"

"You knew about the last one."

"That wasn't a Roan thing, that was a Clarke thing." He pauses. "Which this probably is too. Like ninety-percent of your life is a Clarke thing. Whatever it is, when in doubt, just assume it's a Clarke thing."

"It's about winning, and I don't think Clarke really cares if I win," he says. "I know she wants me to, so--"

"So are you going to finally make a move?"

"Was I this much of a dick when you weren't making a move on Monty?" he asks.

"No. But I only took, like, a year for that. And I didn't know if he liked guys for six months. You're on six years and counting."

"That's not fair," he protests. "We were both in relationships, and--stuff happened, okay? Fuck you."

"Oh yeah, three years. Never mind, that's not pathetic anymore."

"Shut up." He closes his eyes and leans back on the couch. "I seriously don't think it's about Clarke."

"You ever think about how you're just kind of stupid competitive? And no one thought you were going to lose any of the other rounds. We all had you stomping the competition until the finals. No one thought you were ever gonna get anything less than second."

"Yeah, that sounds right." He pushes off the couch and adjusts his glasses. "Cool, thanks."

For the first time in the conversation, Miller actually looks up from his laptop. "That's it? Crisis over?"

"No, but if it's not about Clarke I'm just going to have her talk me through it. She's better at this than you are."

"Well, she likes you way more than I do." There's a pause, but then he adds, "Hey, I only get one vote, but you know you got it, right?"

"I'm gonna beat Roan by one vote and Monty's going to dump you," Bellamy teases, because it's that or express real emotions.

"Dude, he voted for you too. We all voted for you."

The emotions are unavoidable, so he just gives Miller's shoulder a squeeze. "Thanks."

Miller rolls his eyes. "Don't thank me. If you win, you're buying beer for the next year."

"You know this doesn't come with a cash prize, right? Clarke's getting the money if I win."

"You know your acting career pays way more than our website, right?"

It's weird being the person in the house with the highest salary, but it's balanced out by Clarke being independently wealthy. "Fine, if I win, I'm buying beer for the next year."

"Cool. I wish I could vote for you twice."

Bellamy cuffs him lightly, because feelings are the worst, and then takes off to find Clarke. He assumes she's drawing in the living room, as usual. The website really _isn't_ much of a living for four people, which is why Clarke started designing merchandise for them. Between that and the official Ark Reviews pop-culture trivia app (coding by Raven and Monty, graphic design by Clarke, questions by the whole team), they do okay, but Clarke spends basically all her free time sketching, trying to come up with their next logo or slogan.

Honestly, Bellamy thinks she's just bad at sitting still.

He sits down next to her on the couch, leans in so he can see what she's working on. Like Miller, she doesn't look up, but she shifts to make room for him, which is all he ever really needs from her.

His breath catches when he sees what she's working on, and she shifts a little, clearly noticing. "I do it every year." Her voice comes out more than a little defensive, which it should.

Because on the one hand, it's true. Ever since Ark started actually started developing a relationship with the nominees for their awards, Clarke has been producing an actual certificate for the winner. It's nothing fancy, just the award name and year, the recipient's name, signatures from the Ark staff, and a little doodle, but it's always cute, and she does a good job with it. She even tends to start it early.

But she usually waits before she adds any personal information, like the recipient's name or the doodle. It's not weird that she's already written _Excellence In Male-IdentifedTelevision Thespian Award 2017_ in her usual fancy script, but she's crossed out _Excellence_ and written _Supremacy_ , with the Superman S at the beginning. It wouldn't work for Roan. 

It's his.

"Voting hasn't even started," he says. His voice comes out soft, like it's a secret. As if she actually doesn't know.

"Well, if he gets excellence, you can still have supremacy. It can be a different award."

"Thanks." He wets his lips and just gives up, dropping his forehead onto her shoulder. She smells like floral shampoo and freshly sharpened pencils, and he's stupid in love with her. So he admits, "I really want to win." He finds it's all he needs to say.

She slides her fingers into his hair to rub his scalp. "Yeah. I know."

*

 **Roan Bergman** @ice2meetyou  
Voting for #EMITT2k17 starts TOMORROW. @abellamybreak may the most excellent male-identified thespian win [kiss emoji]

 **Give Bellamy Blake**  
@abellamybreak  
_Replying to @ice2meetyou_  
That's the general idea, yeah

 **Give Bellamy Blake**  
@abellamybreak  
_Replying to @ice2meetyou_  
Free beer at the house for a year if I win btw

 **Give Bellamy Blake**  
@abellamybreak  
_Replying to @ice2meetyou_  
Your move

 **Roan Bergman** @ice2meetyou  
_Replying to @ice2meetyou and @abellamybreak_  
Don't worry, I'll take you out to dinner either way. Somewhere nice. Wear a tie.

 **Raven [crown emoji** @reyes-of-the-lost-ark  
_Replying to @ice2meetyou and @abellamybreak_  
I'm putting off #EFITT2k17 for a special Bellamy/Roan RPF contest. Tell your friends

*

Because it's generally important to make your own fun, the staff of Ark Reviews (and Bellamy) treat the last night of the EMITTs as an actual event. They get beer and order pizza and Raven hooks a laptop up to projector and sets it to automatically refresh the results every thirty seconds. Unlike the actual site, which shows the results as percentages, Raven gets it in pie chart form, and they usually check in with it between rounds of video games or during the credits of whatever they're binging on Netflix.

But Bellamy's never been involved before.

Raven called Roan too, so they're both on site, and it's not tense, not exactly. If Bellamy loses, he's not actually going to take it as a sign that Roan is better than he is. He'll be a little grumpy, but--at least if he loses to Roan, he's losing to someone he (reluctantly) likes. It's not as good as losing to Lincoln, but it's an improvement over anyone else.

Which is kind of a revelation in and of itself. Miller might be right; this is primarily competitiveness. It doesn't have that much to do with Roan.

But he does want to beat him. Just on principle.

They try to play Mario Kart, but _everyone_ is distracted, because the whole thing is so close, and it's just--absurdly hilarious. It's so close Bellamy isn't even sure the voters can tell who's winning, and he doesn't know how to feel, that there are people so dedicated to this on both sides. It's kind of awe-inspiring. And only a little weird.

"We'd better post some nice pictures together," Roan says. "Just to avoid some sort of blood war between our followers."

"Yeah, you guys could be the next Team Edward and Team Jacob if you aren't careful," says Monty.

"Is Clarke Bella?" Raven asks.

"I don't know, do people actually ship her and Roan?"

"I am always showing up on her show with no shirt on," says Roan. "And Raven still refuses to be seen in public with me."

"It's because you're always showing up with no shirt on," Raven shoots back. "I don't want anyone to think I know you."

"Well, you're doing a great job, the internet has no idea," says Monty, and he and Raven high five.

The conversation shifts to everyone else bickering, and Bellamy tries to pay attention, but out of the corner of his eye, he just sees the stupid pie chart on the wall, the red and blue halves that never settle enough for him to even feel like he can _guess_ who's going to win. 

When there's a lull in the conversation, he says, "Anyone need another drink?"

"I think I want a cocktail," says Clarke. "I'll come with you."

Everyone else shakes their heads and returns to the conversation, not paying them any mind, which is good, because Clarke slides her hand into his on their way out of the living room and he nearly jumps out of his skin. It's an embarrassing enough reaction without anyone else noticing and calling him out.

"Let's take a walk," she says.

He's still distracted by the fact that they're _holding hands_ , so much so that it takes him a second to process the words. The whole thing feels vaguely unreal, and once he figures out what she's saying, it's even moreso.

"A _walk_?" 

She squeezes his fingers. "You look like you're going to pass out, Bellamy. It's really not a big deal."

"I know." He wets his lips. "I still care. Fuck, why do I care?"

"Because you hate losing?"

"Weirdly, I don't think that's it." He swallows, lets himself tighten his grip on her. "I think if I lose, you're not going to go out with me."

To his relief, she laughs. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"Yeah, it sounded really stupid when I said it. And that's not really--not what I meant. It just feels like winning and telling you how I feel are supposed to go together. Win the contest, get the girl."

"You're pretty much telling me now."

"You're holding my hand."

"It's almost like my feelings for you have nothing to do with whether or not you win an online poll."

"Yeah?"

She laughs. "Fucking _duh_ , Bellamy," she says, and then she kisses him.

So, maybe Miller was right. Maybe basically everything in his life is a Clarke thing.

He's having trouble caring.

*

 **Ark Reviews** @ark-reviews  
Congrats to our #EMITT2k17 @abellamybreak!! No idea where he is right now. Hope he's having a good time.

 **Ark Reviews** @ark-reviews  
_Replying to @ark-reviews_  
And shoutout to @ice2meetyou, who is being very gracious in defeat

 **Ark Reviews** @ark-reviews  
_Replying to @ark-reviews_  
Definitely not joining in our betting pool about where Bellamy is and when he'll come back at all

 **Ark Reviews** @ark-reviews  
_Replying to @ark-reviews_  
Anyway, victory speech tomorrow, shirtless photoshoot soon, and #EFITT2k17 in two weeks!!

 **Ark Reviews** @ark-reviews  
_Replying to @ark-reviews_  
Congrats to all, but ESPECIALLY @abellamybreak

 **Give Bellamy Blake** @abellamybreak  
_Replying to @ark-reviews_  
I don't know why you're congratulating ME, I didn't do any work

 **Give Bellamy Blake** @abellamybreak  
_Replying to @ark-reviews_  
But thanks to everyone for voting, it really means a lot

 **Raven [crown emoji]** @reyes-of-the-lost-ark  
_Replying to @ark-reviews and @abellamybreak_  
you know why

 **Give Bellamy Blake** @abellamybreak  
_Replying to @ark-reviews and @reyes-of-the-lost-ark_  
Yeah, I know why

 **Give Bellamy Blake** @abellamybreak  
_Replying to @ark-reviews and @reyes-of-the-lost-ark_  
Thanks


End file.
